Handing out free items.

I know some people are really suspicious of scams and stuff, but personally I like handing out items in-game. Anyway, I was wondering which way I should go about doing this, because obviously if I say that I'm handing out free items in the main chat, people will jump on me. I tried going up to a level twelve Elementalist in Yak's Bend and giving him a free rune through Trade, but he kept cancelling on me. This is kind of annoying because I didn't need it and I personally have no need for gold right now. I did manage to give it to someone else though, and he (or she) seemed pretty pleased with it.

The main thing I'm slightly nervous about when doing this is that people might think I'm trying to scam them, and then report me or something. Yes, I know, there's no proof but it still makes me feel uncomfortable. I thought about whispering the person first but it still sounds dodgy, "Hi, want a free Rune of Minor Vigor?". I don't know. Does anyone else do this?

Open up with a more revealing statement, I guess. Let them know there's no strings attached.

Something like: "Hello, I'm giving away items I'm not interested in and was wondering if you'd like a ...."

It's a very nice gesture to do such things, regardless. Best of luck to you

That's a good thing to say, thank you. I'll try that with the dye that's clogging up my inventory .

Just drop that item on the ground and watch the vultures gather Well, actually, I don't know if it works that way in GW, but it did some other games - you could have hordes of beggars following you while you dropped absolutely worthless items(equivalent of dropping 0.1gold, if you could do that).

Make it a game with really obvious answers. There was a TV show on back a few weeks ago where they'd ask people questions and give people money for getting them right, but the whole time they had no idea they were on camera. Candid camera, cash style. Show was called "Oblivious."

One time they asked a Playboy Playmate, "Who's on the $5 bill?" and she had no idea... it was really hysterical. Took the dumb blonde sterotype to the tenth power.

Anyway, ask people stuff like "How much would you pay for a (blankity blankity blankity blank)?" And if they say "I don't want it," then don't give it to them; if they say "nothing," then, well, there ya go. ^_^

By the way, what you're doing really helps out the poor noobz0rlators out there, so props to ya.

I know that sometimes I might be giving items to people who don't need them or are playing their alts and are really super rich, but hey, it's still a nice gesture eh?

I just wait until I'm in a mission or a group for a quest and dump it all on the ground while fighting...people pick it up...

I do this a lot with my brother and my girlfriend when I took my lvl 20 back and helped them with quests and missions. So much junk dropped for me, that I just dropped it back...they tagged along and picked it all back up...

I'll also drop it if its something someone wanted. Like a shield, not an uber shield, just a nice one, sure, if they ask if they can have it, I'll drop it for them...I always ID it first in case there is anything to unlock, but I'll still drop it...

I usually go to Ascalon City and look for lowbies with no guild tag. Then I whisper them, saying something like (let's say it's a nice axe I'll never use): "Hey, I have a nice axe you can have, if you will use it." Works most of the time, and since they aren't in a guild it ups the chances that I am actually helping someone that can use help, instead of someone that will take what I give them and immediately start yelling in the Trade channel trying to sell it (had that happen, I let it slide).

When I was low level I went on a quest from Piken Square with a level 20 who had come back to complete quests they hadn't done already.
We kept in touch, and later, when I was at Yak's bend they whispered me to say they had some high level items they didn't need and wanted to give to me.
I ended up with a gold fire wand of 10-20 damage and a gold focus item of +10 Energy on my level 12 elementalist.
Needless to say, I was thrilled!

Now I find myself at level 20, in the southern shiverpeaks, with an inventory full of max damage or close to max damage items and I'm planning to go give them away to lower level characters too.

Yeah, I didn't think about the Guild Tag thing. I'll remember that next time .

hey, i always take items, if u want ill take em from you

If you're ever around on the European servers and you see me, come up to me and tell me you posted a reply to a Thread I made on the GWG message boards and I'll give you something (it might just be a plank of wood or it might just be this really bad purple staff in my inventory ).

Ah, if only more of the GW community were like you...

I had this 6 "not so good" fiery dragon swords wasting space in my inventory.
Wanted to give them away in Yaks bend wor no matter how much money.

Found a Ranger that wanted a sword and actually had something i could use.
He didnt like the deal (that was actually FAR on his side) untill i put 2 Superior ranger runes on the fiery sword (when they were worth 250).

I scammed myself on purpose, payd to get rid of a fiery dragon sword
I wantet to give a gift to the ranger and he left the game right after the deal.

I used to run a little game show, cleared my storage a good many times that way. First person to whisper me the answer, gets the current item.

I've given away an extra collectable item if I have one lying around in my inventory. some of that stuff is a pain to get. I'd rather do that then sell it.

I seriously want uncustomizing weopons. I have a near Max Damage (18-34) Zealous Mursaat Hammer with the extremely low REQ of 8 but I can't give it to anyone becuase it's customized for me :\.

I never farm, so I never have very much on me except for what I need or use, but I try to help out low level players as much as I can. ^^

Something odd, though, if you stand in old ascalon and say "Lvl 20 W/mo Helping new players with quests for free, whisper me" you will never get a reply.. Strange.

Someone just recently gave out around 40k in Droknar's... I think it was yesterday. They got mobbed, but it was still quite enjoyable. I didn't get any of it, but it was still fun to watch people freak out about it and get all happy and stuff. I think the best way to do it is just find people that can really use the stuff. Also, if you see someone doing something good or nice, help them out a bit. It's always nice to reward people (and be rewarded) for good deeds.

Ya sometimes when I feel kinda sad or happy I go to lower level areas and give stuff I pick up the the Crystal Desert who might need it.

If I have items that I feel like giving away I head to Ascalon City. I've found that the simple message "Any low level [profession] here? Whisper me." works well enough. Once someone does whisper me I ask them their level and if they have a need for whatever I'm giving away. They'll ask "How much?" of course and some have a hard time believing me when I say "Free". Once they actually get the item for free though most have been appreciative.

I frequenty give away Orange and Green dyes whenever I find them. I like doing Riddles to give them out. Although, it does result in me getting 10 Whispers with people asking "What's the riddle?".

I changed the thread title to correct a confusing mistake, I hope you don't mind. It said "times" instead of "items."

I usually wait until I find someone in a quest or mission who ISN'T an idiot, then make a note of their build. Add them to friends. E.g. right now I have a great Warrior friend, and if he finds any Ranger stuff, he gives it to me, and if I find Warrior stuff, I let him have it. And if I just find a random thing on a quest for, say, an Elementalist, and we have one in the group who isn't a fool but I won't put on my friend list, I let them have that one item and thats it.

I personaly love being nice.... i like pre searin so much i ran around for 3 days just helping people out.. i horded lodestones belts seeds a carapieces then looked around for people who were lvl1-4 and offered to them help with gettin better armor.. i ran 4 rangers two elemetalists a warrior and a monk to their better armor and got many thanx
its how i wanted to spend last night but for somereason i kept getting disconnected.... it's easier for me to be nice in pre and not feel taken advantage of then it is in post for some reason....
i too like givin away stuff i don't need.. my guildies love me.... i frequently take my 20 to the areas befor yaks bend and help people with quests and missions.. this is when i have restricted givin stuff away unless i see someone in ascalon beggin for xhides x scales and you know they are so close to better armor it's killin them not having it.....
i have been scammed a few tiems trying to be helpful..... it is why i no longer say.. "giving away ashes... of giveing awayx" (i have 100 someodd extra ashesfor some reason lol) peple take them then sell them at way way ridicoulus prices and wind up rippen of the type of person i ws tryin to help.....

It did? Haha, wow, I totally missed that. And why should I mind?

Today, I was doing some quests around Yak's Bend and found a Minor Ranger Rune, and I took some of the advice given to me here. That person was very happy with their free rune .

Hmm. There is something though. I don't mind helping other players if they need it, and I certainly don't mind helping guildies. However, today, one of the officers in the guild I'm in (who is the brother of the leader) simply whispered me saying "I NEED MONEY =)" and I was like "Uhh..." because frankly, I have none (don't need it). I've been considering starting my own guild for a while now, simply because I don't like the way most other guilds that I've been in have been run, and this only pushed me a little further towards leaving.

Dammit.

I think it would be best to reward people in pre-searing. Just imagine the thanks they would give if they had just made their first character, and received a shiny rune. They would still be pleased with a minor rune. I know I was when I found my first minor rune.

I was not, it was a ninor ranger rune (and I was playing a E/Me).

I have no problem with helping people with Ashes with a lv20 character (that can pretty much handle most of the trouble) since thats a very dificult quest but I think some people dont want help with quests because they are suspecious of high levels being around (with good reason, we sould be farming in other areas) and they want to get a grip of the game and having a lv20 babysitting then of the Ascalon quests really does not help since the game gets harder and they learned nothing about tactics because they were helped by a near god character at start, meaning they will have a tougher time.

There are some quests they sould be helped (like Ashes) but others they sould be left alone so they can learn.

I used to give out stuff. Nice stuff. Stuff you could sell in today's GW economy for ludicrous money. Not just to friends or guildies but to random strangers. PUG teammates who ask when something nice dropped to you, even.

I do not anymore. Well, stuff I consider junk but those just starting might want, perhaps. I certainly won't give out any max damage fellblades with a usable bump on it... that 1 extra attribute over what a hilt/pommel pair can give makes it priceless in today's "WTB: I'll give 100k for a perfect stormbow!!!!" community.

What really gets me is the drops. Back in BWEs we assumed the drops were boosted so you'd get would-be buyers to see a wider variety of nice things. Even after launch, the drops were still pretty good. Inside of 250 hours I had a chest-full of nice gold items, worth-keeping ones not just rare. A bagfull of max damage dragon swords, etc.

It's interesting to note that nerfing drops affects some of the social aspect of GW for me. And so do the dirtbag loser capitalists selling collector items. If I'm at a hard-to-reach max item PvP collector I always spend it all... if I came for one item but I have 20 avicara scalps when I get there, I'll get one of each item... and pass them out. But seeing people selling them for 10k+ to noobs has stopped that, too. To think I could have indirectly enabled someone to do this. Grr.

re: getting strange people to take free items, now that is funny. Some immediately take it but then zone away or set themselves to offline... they're probably giggling to themselves. They think you mistakenly traded with them. Others will never accept the trade window. They won't cancel either... that "deer in the headlights" thing, frozen and unsure.